RTS turn off

[DiyNutJob]

It can be at best, a guess, they lack records, and they always exaggerate in the news.

Why would they exaggerate? So, you think they suddenly don't want people to move over to smart meter?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Why would they exaggerate? So, you think they suddenly don't want people to move over to smart meter?

20 million households/meters in the UK, of which 300,000 rely upon RTS - that seems an extremely high guess to my mind, intended to grab headlines.

 

[JohnW2]

Not little used. 300k households use it.

Even if it's true that 300k households use the transmission for RTSs, the BBC are probably not going to care a damn about that.

Their interest is in how many people want to listen to their long-wave radio broadcasts - and that probably is a very "little used" service.

 

[JohnW2]

Seems more economical to replace the entire valve with a china unit.

There is presumably no suitable off-the-shelf valve available (otherwise there would be no problem), so it would have to be 'custom made', which could be pretty costly. On the other hand, replacement of the entire transmitter with a modern one might be relatively 'cheap' and, probably more to the point, would also 'future proof' the situation.

However, as I wrote, and have just written again, one assumes that the BBC really have no interest or desire in keeping their long-wave broadcasts going.

 

[crystal ball]

Just listening to Jarvis Cocker saying he used to listen to the shipping forecast on LW when living in France

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Just listening to Jarvis Cocker saying he used to listen to the shipping forecast on LW when living in France

I did that, for years, absolutly no interest in the weather at sea, but it was great for getting me off to sleep.

 

[morqthana]

From Temu?

Aliexpress for tech items like that.

 

[morqthana]

I did that, for years, absolutly no interest in the weather at sea, but it was great for getting me off to sleep.

One one of these?

 

[DiyNutJob]

There is presumably no suitable off-the-shelf valve available (otherwise there would be no problem)

You presumption could be wrong. They could be changing it for the sake of changing it. Changing it would create profit for the insiders who would award contracts to friends and families. Kickbacks then follow.

If you have the valve model number, let me check for you if it's available off the china shelf. Also contracting a china factory to make it could be reasonably cheap. They might even come up with a new fangled unit that's 10x smaller, 5x lower power consumption, and 20x cheaper than original.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

If you have the valve model number, let me check for you if it's available off the china shelf.

Multi-hundred-kilowatt valves are not going to be a COTS item. Dream on.
A bit of Googling suggests they were made by English Electric Valves, which became Teledyne E2V Thales:

In rural Wales you still need an AM radio, until the last tube fails in service at Droitwich

We used to match the medium to the message and the terrain, but now we seem to assume mobile data is everywhere. AM radio is dying, because everybody is online. Except when they aren’t. Bwlch…

www.richardmudhar.com

 

[ericmark]

I would not think a valve of that size has a glass envelope, more likely look more like this. If the BBC does not want radio 4 long wave, then the DNO or whoever, would need to pay those who run the transmitter to keep it running. But the cost to maintain such a massive station just to work teleswitches would be daft, and likely the station is now somewhat run down, as it has been ear marked for closure for years.

The national grid was started in 1935, (one year after the BBC started transmitting on long wave) and the last hamlet connected Dec 20, 2008. It is not known for fast reaction to changes.

The Ronan Point event resulted in many high rise flats being stopped from using gas. They had not been designed as all electric, but there was not really any alternative. So from 1968 there was a massive increase in the installing of off-peak heating.

The announcement in May 2022 that the BBC is to stop scheduling separate content for Radio 4 LW, means it has been at least 3 years since it was known it was to stop. Although the transmitter is not owned by the BBC. And this seems to be the root problem, we have so many organisations involved. Many hands will likely stop the lights working?

 

[DiyNutJob]

Multi-hundred-kilowatt valves are not going to be a COTS item. Dream on.
A bit of Googling suggests they were made by English Electric Valves, which became Teledyne E2V Thales:

In rural Wales you still need an AM radio, until the last tube fails in service at Droitwich

We used to match the medium to the message and the terrain, but now we seem to assume mobile data is everywhere. AM radio is dying, because everybody is online. Except when they aren’t. Bwlch…

www.richardmudhar.com

So long as you have the specs they can make it. It comes down to if you want them. There is absolutely no reason why they can't modernise it during the making process.

 

[morqthana]

You presumption could be wrong. They could be changing it for the sake of changing it. Changing it would create profit for the insiders who would award contracts to friends and families. Kickbacks then follow.

And we're supposed to believe that someone who thinks like that has credible ideas about sourcing custom 500kW transmitter valves.

OK.

 

[morqthana]

I would not think a valve of that size has a glass envelope, more likely look more like this.View attachment 386190

 

[morqthana]

In rural Wales you still need an AM radio, until the last tube fails in service at Droitwich

And I read once that in Droitwich you don't even need a radio, just a rusty wire fence.